The dark mark that was my tower soon appeared on the horizon.

“There it is,” I called to Tear, who looked up.

It grew larger faster than I had expected, rising rapidly from the tree line, and I realised that I had accelerated in my eagerness to return home. The almost tripled speed caused the catkin in my arms to dig sharp claws in, looking at the canopies flashing past underneath us with trepidation.

I slowed down, returning to what felt to me like a slow pace once more and I felt Tear’s stiff body untense… but only marginally.

“Heh, you really don't like flying quickly,” I said.

“Of course I don't. What if we crashed?” my passenger replied, voice clearly containing fear.

“Of course we won't crash. I've only crashed four times,” I said brightly and confidently. For some 'unknown' reason, this made the claws come back out.

I chuckled slightly. “I'm teasing you,” I said, “I've only crashed twice!”

Tear groaned in despair and I burst out laughing. “Now now, don't sulk. Look, we're almost there.”

Tear looked up, eyes noticeably widening at the sight of my tower. I had to admit it looked stunning. The light from the afternoon sun seemed to be swallowed by the deep black walls; a single stripe of brilliant light down the side of the tower where the rays instead bounced off the glossy surface, almost blinding in its contrast.

“What is it?” the teenager breathed, childlike wonder in eyes that I only just realised were slightly slitted.

“Built from high quality obsidian and infused with mana, that, is my tower,” I said in my best proud salesman voice. “And that, is my guardian Stardust Dragon.”

Tear let out a shrill shriek as the gigantic summon appeared in front of us.

“Excuse me, but do you mind checking if my ear still works, I think you ruptured my eardrum,” I said, and when I received no reply, I sighed and asked “could you at least relax your grip? I think you would have broken my arm if I wasn't wearing armour.”

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The catkin seemed to be too busy being frozen under the unblinking stare of the dragon to listen to me. I sighed again.

“This person is now a resident until both of us tell you otherwise, so you should allow Tear access to the tower and follow any instructions given to you unless they jeopardise your mission to protect the tower,” I addressed the dragon and it nodded its head once before zipping off to coil round the base of the tower again. It looked to have grown even bigger again, and I guessed that not having anyone absorb the mana in the tower meant that more would escape and be absorbed by the dragon.

As soon as the dragon left, the breath Tear had been holding since the dragon first appeared released in a whoosh. I was impressed, I don't think I'd ever seen anyone hold their breath for so long before.

“You control that thing?!” the teenager asked incredulously between pants.

“Yup, I summoned into existence, so it has a limited mind; it can only obey my orders.”

“And what are those orders?”

“To guard the tower. That's it so far,” I replied, landing on the ground next to the tower, and setting Tear's feet onto the ground.

The teenager wobbled but managed to stay standing by force of will… and a hand on a nearby tree. It didn’t take a genius to guess the encounter with the Stardust Dragon had shaken the catkin something fierce.

After a few minutes to allow the beastkin to recover, I led Tear forward towards the tower. I walked straight up to the wall of the tower under the raised section of dragon and turned to find my follower had stopped following.

“Come on,” I said encouragingly, “you heard what I said earlier, it won't hurt you.”

Tear stepped forward under the coils of the dragon hesitantly, scrutinising its head for any sign of movement, seeming to be relieved when it didn't immediately flatten the teenager’s body, though there was no need to be worried; the summoned creature would follow my command without a single deviation.

I threw the hidden switch to open the door and gestured at the now-ethereal wall. “After you,” I said.

Tear looked me in the eye, as if to ask whether I was joking, then, poked the wall with trepidation, seemingly incredibly surprised when the finger passed straight through. The catkin looked back at me and I nodded reassuringly. Tear took a deep breath, which wasn't necessary, air passed through as well, and walked into the wall with one hand held out in front.

“Just keep going straight,” I called, passing the barely visible form of the catkin, who had stopped barely a step into the obsidian, “it's only two meters deep. You can trail one hand against the wall if you'd like.”

I emerged from the wall, waited until Tear was through before closing it, then strode across the room to stand in the middle of the floor.